


The Girl is Mine

by Genie60



Series: Poldark Series 3-This and That [10]
Category: Poldark (TV 2015)
Genre: Cuckolding, F/M, Fighting for love, Love, Marriage, Reconciliation, S3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 05:50:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11284980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genie60/pseuds/Genie60
Summary: S3 What if?  What if Hugh was cured and posed a serious threat to Ross and Demelza's marriage?  What if Ross didn't stand by this time? What if he told Demelza and Hugh exactly what he thought of the whole situation?





	The Girl is Mine

**Author's Note:**

> From a conversation on FB about what Hugh's arrival might mean and how it will play out. Also, Aidan's comments about Ross taking Hugh's head off was a visual I couldn't shake.

Ross found the poem on the floor, read it once and then read it again.  Not caring that he had invaded Demelza’s personal space he rationalized that since they were married, there was no room for secrets anymore.  He vowed after his bout with temporary insanity that there would nothing he couldn’t tell her.  Since that night when she almost left, he’s been true to that thought. That was until he saw Elizabeth again that day in the cemetery. For whatever reason, after that meeting, where old wounds were reopened and thoughts he never allowed himself to ponder were discussed, he made a conscious decision to keep that incident from Demelza. He rationalized that it was to protect her when in fact it was to save him from going through a long explanation and once again having to fight to win her trust.  Elizabeth, no matter how far removed she was physically from their marriage, would linger.  Almost like the perfume of a woman who after leaving a room could still be detected: cloying, unforgettable, but not pleasant.

Now he wishes he had because he was sure, after seeing his wife’s interactions with the young lieutenant and reading this pretentious prose, that Demelza had caught wind of his final encounter with Elizabeth. Why else would she allow this boy of a sailor to chase her?  Knowing how the town gossips can be, Ross was also sure that his meeting with Elizabeth was related in some overly dramatic way.  His goal now was to find her, tell her he didn’t like her friendship with Hugh and then deal with the poet himself. Of course,Ross wouldn’t be contemplating this action if Hugh had not made a full and complete recovery from his illness.  Dwight was able to pull him back from the brink of death with new and novel treatments, curing him of the disease he acquired in a French prison.  Up until that point, Ross stood aside and watched as the ailing sailor fell for his beloved wife and she, feeling sympathy for his plight, reciprocated those feelings.

Now, however, there was no room for pity.  Hugh was healthy and Ross could meet him on an even field where the fight for his wife’s affections came into play.  Ross was determined to make Demelza see that he wasn’t just standing by, watching her give her love to someone else.  Perhaps he was foolish in that regard; putting the entire burden on her to fight the attentions of this young man.  But he never had to battle another man for her before.  In all their years together, those who chased her were old buffoons, who he knew had no chance with his wife. She took their flirting as part of the game played by society’s wives.  The only true challenge to this was Malcolm McNeil and as Demelza proved, she shot down his attempt at cuckolding him with master precision.

  This time though, she was more vulnerable that before, if that were possible.  They had fought so hard to come back to each other that Ross didn’t think twice about her kindness towards this person.   He never believed that anything more than friendship would blossom between them. So when the poetry and letters came; when Hugh sent invitation after invitation; when he sent gifts like plants that he knew Demelza loved, Ross knew this was different.  And he knew that this time, she was falling.  He saw it in her eyes and the way she looked at Hugh Armitage.   He told her it bothered him because it was the first time she looked at someone the way she looked at him. And it hurt.  She was his constant. Ross relied on her good sense and keen ability to read people so it would guide her through in order to fight this temptation. 

Instead, he should have fought his own temptation to once again seek out Elizabeth’s forgiveness and focus on the person whose love and compassion mattered more.  The old demons were still hard to shake and now he was paying for it again.   Pacing the room Ross gathered his thoughts before going in search of the two people he needed to confront.  He was torn between seeking out his wife or his rival. Rival. It was the first time he let himself think of Hugh Armitage as that.  Never before had Ross Poldark truly had a rival for a woman’s affections.  The situations with Elizabeth were predetermined with no opportunity to counter them, so to speak. There was no way he would go against his cousin when he returned to their engagement.  As for her choice of George, well, that attempt at fighting her decision turned into an emotional free for all of all concerned.  This time he had a chance to stop something before it ran away from him.  So the decision was made.  He needed to find Demelza.

Ross stepped out of the room, the crushed poem in his hand as if it was a talisman giving him extra power to fight for this cause.  It was the first time he was unsure if his persuasions would work so there was a part of him that was scared. More so than years ago when he almost lost Demelza the first time because of his actions.  Then it was because of what he had done; now it was because of what he hadn’t done.  Today that stopped and he prayed it would be enough.  _It had to be_ , he thought. _I can’t_ _live_ _without her_.  He flew down the stairs, hitting the landing hard as his eyes searched for his wife.  After walking through several rooms he spied her outside in the garden. She seemed to be alone, sitting on a bench, a cut rose in her hand.  Ross took a breath, shoved the paper in the pocket of his coat and went to meet her.  He was about to pass through the doors when the other party in this triangle came into his line of vision.  Sitting opposite his wife was Hugh Armitage.  Now Ross had to decide if he wanted these conversations to happen privately or in front of the other party.  _I don’t care who knows how I feel_ , he thought.  _This flirtation ends today._

He opened the door and stepped into the sunlight.  Both Demelza and Hugh turned to look at him.

“Ross,” his wife said as she stood to greet him.   Ross could see she was a little flustered with a pink hue rising in her cheeks.   He wasn’t sure if it was because he startled her or because he interrupted someting.  She walked over to him and took his hands in hers.  He noticed they were warm, more than usual and a pang of envy ran through him.  Did this boy have the power to make his wife’s blood flow and temperature rise?  The thought ignited his determination to end this, whatever it was. 

“Demelza, I’ve been looking for you,” he said.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hugh Armitage move to leave and thought to stop him.

“Stay Lieutenant. What I have to say to my wife can be heard by you. In fact, I think I prefer that you hear it. Then perhaps you will see no need to continue writing these, “Ross said as he pulled out the parchment. 

Demelza gasped as she looked at Hugh and then back to Ross.

“Where did you find that?” she asked quietly.

“On the floor of our room, Demelza.  But where I found doesn’t matter as much as the fact that I did actually find it.  And, I’m not quite sure what to make of it,” he said, this time turning his attention to Hugh. 

The younger man looked at his rescuer’s face and was not quite sure what to say. 

“I’m sorry Captain. I didn’t mean to offend you,” he started to say.

“You didn’t?” Ross said with a clear tone of disbelief.

“No. But I’m not sorry I told Demelza how I felt,” the sailor replied.  “She’s an amazing woman and if you’re not going to appreciate her, then you should allow someone else to do so.” 

Armitage barely got the last word out when he felt a fist hit his jaw and he dropped to the ground. Demelza stood, wide-eyed and stunned at Ross’s impulsive move. She had not seen him fight before and wasn’t quite sure if she was flattered or embarrassed by his actions. 

“Ross!” she cried.

“Demelza, stay out of this.  It’s been a long time coming. I’ve watched him fawn over and flatter you for too long and today it ends!” he said to her before turning back to the lieutenant. He looked down at the sailor who put a hand to his chin and blinked a few times, stunned at what had occurred.

“Come on Armitage.  If you want Demelza, you’ll have to fight for her. But let me warn you, I will go to any lengths needed to keep you and any other strutting peacock away from her. She’s not only my wife. She’s the mother of my children; my conscience; my partner; my lover and my soul mate.  No one compares to her and no one ever will. So if you think that your flowery verse is going intimidate me, you’re wrong.”

Hugh stood up on shaky legs, rubbing his jaw and looking past Ross to Demelza who was smiling and trying dreadfully hard to keep from laughing.  He watched as she came up behind her husband and taking his arm turned him towards her.

“Ross, “she whispered. “Did you mean all of that?”

Ross looked down at her, his hands itching to wrap around her waist and pull her to him.

“Yes my love, I did.  I know I’ve been an idiot for just standing by while you were courted by this libertine in aristocrat’s clothes. But know that it was not for lack of loving you. It was because I assumed that I wouldn’t have to fight another insipid suitor.  Little did I know that because of my actions, again, I practically drove you to his arms and his bed.”

“Ross,” she stopped him. “There was never any chance of him taking me to bed.”

Ross looked at her, not quite believing what she said and challenged her to be honest this time.

“Alright.  There was a temptation to see if maybe….that is…if you didn’t want me anymore…if you were seeking out Elizabeth…that maybe I would see what having someone else was like.”

The last part of her sentence was said under breath so that Ross had to struggle to hear her.  The confession confirmed to him that she had gotten heard of his meeting with Elizabeth and that her teetering on the edge of infidelity was because of that.  Again, if she had fallen, he would be to blame.  Not that she wouldn’t be culpable for the final decision.  But to know he had pushed her, to have to make a choice was what was unacceptable.  He pulled her a little further away from Armitage so that he could speak to her more privately.

“Demelza, why are you worried about Elizabeth?” he asked.

She looked up at him, eyes moist with impending tears and smiled wryly.

“You know why Ross.  I know you’ve been seeing her again.  I know that you’ve kissed her,” she said softly. 

There was no anger in her voice, just resignation.  That was something Ross was not prepared to deal with.  His Demelza, the one with the feisty spirit, would not have just accepted something like this.  In the past, she would have fought or, as she almost did, walk away and make a new life for herself.  It seems as though this dalliance with Armitage was a version of the latter.

“You’re wrong my love.  I have not been seeing Elizabeth again.  I did meet her by chance in the churchyard and we did talk about many things.  I’m sure you know what about without my saying it. And yes, I did kiss her. But not as a lover or someone I want. It was to tell her goodbye. There was nothing there Demelza. Nothing of substance that you need to worry about.  She is a memory of a life long gone.  And whatever connection remains, will not and does not impact my love for you,” he said.

The tears fell and instead of wiping them away, Ross kissed her.  As his lips met hers, the saltiness from them mixed with the taste that was purely Demelza and he drank it all in.  Demelza reached for his lapels and clung to him, her head moving to the side to gain more leverage in the kiss.  Ross’s hands traveled up her body until his hands reached her hair and he thrust his fingers into the red mane, tangling them in her curls.  They continued this reconnection, oblivious to the fact that they were not alone and not caring.  He pulled away, needing air but did not let go of her.

“Demelza no matter what the good lieutenant has filled your head with by using his talent for rhyme and verse, know that it is nothing compared to my love for you.  I wish that I could shower you with his kind of romantic gestures of affection but, I’m afraid my love, that I was never schooled in such things.  What I learned about women came from the few memories I have of my mother, and watching my father whore around Truro after her death.  And until you came along I didn’t know what complete love was.  I had idealized love in the form of Elizabeth. But with you, I have found, emotional, physical and dare I say, spiritual love.  You are part of me Demelza.  Just as our children are and yet,  you feel more a part of my blood than even them.  Can you understand that?”

Her tears were continuous now, as she quietly cried over his words.  No poetry that Hugh Armitage could write her would measure up to what her husband had just said.

“I don’t know why you think you aren’t romantic Ross. For that is truly the most loving thing I have ever heard,” she said.

He smiled at her and brushed her cheeks with his thumbs, trying to erase the tracks of her tears.

“I’m not so sure about that, my love.  But I am sure that I don’t want you tempting fate again because of gossip or supposition, is that clear?”

His voice was firm and to the point.

“No more allowing others to influence our lives,” he said.

“I agree. But you must also agree to not keep things from me you assume will upset me. I would rather know the truth and deal with it, than work off of assumptions,” she said.  Her logic made total sense and he couldn’t argue with it.

“You’re right Demelza. And on that point,” he turned to Armitage who had stood silently watching this scene unfold, nursing is wounded pride and face.

“I believe Lieutenant that I owe you a debt of gratitude.  If not for your ardent pursuit of my wife, I never would have seen what was right in front of me.  So I thank you for that. And that should make our score even.  I saved your life and you, in turn, saved mine.  Not in the same way, but still our debts are paid.”

Armitage had nothing to say to that.  He looked at Demelza for some guidance and saw that she was not interested in his dilemma.  He had to admit defeat.

“Captain, I had thought that what I found in Deme…your wife…was perfection and someone I could love. And I did. Unfortunately, she loves someone else.  Be grateful Captain for all you have, because you never know when someone might come to take it away.” 

The sailor walked past him to Demelza.  He took her hand and kissed it. 

“Thank you, Demelza.  You have taught me, in a short period of time, what love, real love, truly is. I will never forget you,” Hugh said.

With that, he turned again to Ross and held out his hand. Ross reluctantly shook it.

“I wish you well Lieutenant.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m taking my wife to bed.” 

Ross took Demelza’s hand and led her back into the house, purposefully heading towards their room.

“Ross, this isn’t proper,” she said as she skipped to keep up with him.

“Demelza, nothing about our relationship has ever been proper. Why should we start now?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to all on FB and Tumblr for the lively discussions that keep the creative gremlins fed. You rock!


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